A California poacher is facing serious consequences after one of the strangest series of incidents in recent memory. According to a Facebook post, a California Department of Fish & Wildlife (CDFW) officer stopped a slow-moving Honda Civic near Paso Robles earlier this spring. The warden had noticed blood on the trunk and rear bumper, prompting a search of the vehicle. In the trunk was a wounded—but alive—tom turkey and a squirrel.
The officer suspected the incident to be a case of road hunting, which is illegal in California except for mobility-impaired hunters, who can apply for a special permit. The suspected poacher was cited.
Two weeks later, a different CDFW wildlife officer noticed a Chevy Malibu driving slowly near Paso Robles with a driver and two passengers. The officer found two turkeys—a hen and a tom— in the trunk, as well as a .22 caliber rifle in the rear floorboard. Hunting turkeys with a .22 is illegal in California. Additionally, none of the individuals carried hunting licenses.
The wildlife officer was also able to identify the driver as the same suspected poacher who was stopped and cited by a wildlife officer for road hunting two weeks prior. This time, the 26-year-old suspected poacher was arrested and charged with a bevy of violations, including unlawful hunting, other wildlife infractions, and felony animal cruelty charges. The San Luis Obispo County courts set bail at $20,000.
This isn’t the only noteworthy poaching case involving a Californian so far this year. In February, a Wyoming Fish & Game Department investigation led to three Californians being charged with exceeding possession limits and ignoring size restrictions while fishing the famed North Platte River. And on May 12, the CDFW announced seven recent citations for poachers illegally taking red abalone along the California coast.
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